Housing (Renters)

This bill requires recreational vehicles and mobile homes to be classified as buildings for rent or lease when placed on land, meaning these spaces will be subject to subdivision review processes. The law directly affects landowners, developers, and local governments by mandating that areas with multiple RV or mobile home spaces undergo the same regulatory scrutiny as traditional subdivisions. Key provisions amend existing Montana statutes to explicitly include these types of living spaces within the legal definition of a subdivision, ensuring they meet the same standards for infrastructure and land division. Local governing bodies will need to apply existing subdivision regulations to these sites, potentially requiring surveys, plats, and compliance checks similar to those for conventional housing developments.

This bill creates two new criminal offenses in Montana: unlawful squatting and fraudulent sale or lease of property. The unlawful squatting offense applies to anyone who knowingly enters and stays on another person's property without permission, while the fraudulent sale offense targets those who advertise property they do not legally own or have authority to rent. Key provisions include mandatory restitution for squatting victims equal to fair market rent, a minimum six-month jail sentence for fraudulent property listings, and a process allowing property owners to request immediate law enforcement removal of unauthorized occupants. The bill also establishes a fee structure for law enforcement services during removals and creates a civil remedy for wrongful removals, while requiring property owners to indemnify law enforcement if they knowingly provide false information in removal requests.